The Production of Traditional Carob Syrup

Words by Emily Francis

In Malta, eating seasonally and locally is one of the cornerstones of mindful and healthy eating. Carob syrup comes just in time for the cold and cough season for a reason. Carob is extremely beneficial to clear the lungs and assisting with cough and congestion. Carob syrup can be eaten straight from the jar with a spoon or can be mixed in a coffee mug with one tablespoon of the syrup and four parts hot water to make tea.

We met with Joseph and Lucy-Ann Muscat from Malta Sunripe and their additional brand Tari Tari to learn how they make their traditional carob syrup. We began at the farm with the mature carob trees to gather the carob pods. There are both male and female carob trees, but the female carob trees are the ones that bear the fruit. Carob is best harvested at the end of August but they were kind enough to save a small batch for us to see on the trees. The mature carob trees have very large and intricate trunks. It looks like a work of art. Joseph said that when he was young and his father would bring him to the same farm, that tree used to be his playground. It’s a great tree for climbing! Carob trees can live well into a thousand years and the one we got to see was somewhere between 200 and 300 years old.

Next, we went to Malta Sunripe to watch Lucy-Ann turn the carob into syrup. The ingredient list is minimal with only water, bay leaves, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon and clove. The bay leaves and whole cinnamon sticks are put into the large pots of carob which have been snapped into three parts along with water to put into the pot to boil. Next, they filter the liquid and separate it from the carob and bay leaves. Once it’s a liquid form, they put it into a large stirring bin and add the lemon juice, sugar, ground cinnamon and ground clove and let it stir for fifteen minutes. From there, the liquid is poured into individual jars. The jars are then placed into a large colander where it goes into a very large hot bath. The steam from the hot water will seal the jars to become airtight and ready to be completed with the final touches. At Malta Sunripe, the jars are topped with a small square of cloth and wrapped with its signature tag.

Malta Sunripe makes beautiful hampers year-round, however, Christmas is their busiest time of the year. They are already preparing for the holiday rush. You can go to Malta Sunripe and they will make you a signature hamper with all the products of your choice. All products are grown locally either at their own farm, or through another Mgarr farmer who grows something that they don’t to complete the hampers. Every product you will find in the shop is handcrafted and locally made.